Archive for the ‘2011 Flower Show’ Category

PHS’s Annual Report for 2011 is now available online—and what a year it’s been! Just a quick glance through the report reveals how much PHS has managed to accomplish in a year, from an amazing Flower Show that transported visitors to a beautiful Springtime in Paris to the spectacular success of the Pop Up Garden at 20th and Market streets.

The report highlights PHS’s education programs—such as Tree Tenders and Garden Tenders—greening initiatives—such as Plant One Million and City Harvest—and, of course, our contributors! If you’ve contributed to PHS in the past year, we want to thank you, so page through the report to see your name in print. We couldn’t do it without you!

PHS is oh-so proud to report that the Philadelphia International Flower Show—specifically this year’s “Springtime in Paris”—received five awards from the International Festivals & Events Association.

The Flower Show was honored in a variety of programming and promotional categories, which included a Gold Award for the design of the gardening apron produced exclusively for the Flower Show—you may have bought one at the Flower Show Shop! The Show also received a Silver Award for its support of Plant One Million, a multi-state campaign to restore the region’s tree population.

Elegible entries came from around the world and were as diverse as the Indianapolis 500 Festival; Pasadena Tournament of Roses; World Gourmet Summit, Singapore; Dublin Irish Festival; Ham Pyeong Butterfly Festival, South Korea; and Rotterdam Festivals, The Netherlands.

The winners were announced at the IFEA/Haas & Wilkerson Pinnacle Awards Ceremony held during the association’s 56th annual convention and expo. Sam Lemheney and other PHS staff were on hand in Fort Worth, Texas to receive the honors.

The Flower Show was recognized in the following categories:

BEST MISCELLANEOUS CLOTHING – GOLD

BEST OUTREACH PROGRAM BENEFITING THE COMMUNITY – SILVER

BEST EVENT VIDEO – SILVER

BEST FULL-LENGTH TV PROGRAM – BRONZE

BEST PIN – BRONZE

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As you may have seen on Facebook, the carousel animals from the 2011 Flower Show are making an encore appearance this summer on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Nine creatures – animals, insects and other whimsical beasts brought to life with plant materials – were installed around Logan Square as part of today’s City in Bloom event.

PHS prez Drew Becher says, “The installation of the carousel animals is the first in a series of “PHS Pops Up” events that will transform sites around the city, and surprise and inspire residents and visitors.”

Now that the animals are settled in, it seems only fitting that we honor them with names. Simply suggest clever, creative names for our magnificent menagerie, and you’ll be entered to win a fabulous prize from Meadowbrook Farm. You can also vote for your favorite. Click here to enter the Carousel Contest!

Kids are invited to get in on the fun, too! PHS wants budding artists (ages 4 – 15) to submit drawings and doodles of the carousel animals. Drew Becher and Flower Show designer Sam Lemheney will select three winners and those young people will win a prize (and have their artwork displayed in the PHS McLean Library). Paints, markers, crayons, charcoal–anything goes! Send entries to PHS Carousel Contest, 100 N. 20th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103.

With the Flower Show attendance on an upswing, there were lots of mouths to feed during the week-long event.

As a result, business was booming for our Flower Show neighbor, the Reading Terminal Market, which had record-breaking attendance over nine days of Flower Show activity.

The Market also recorded its busiest single day in recorded Market history on Saturday, March 12, with 42,225 visitors passing through for a bite.

You can visit the Reading Terminal Market any day of the week with most vendors open Monday through Saturday from 8am to 6pm and Sunday from 9am to 5pm. For more information about the historic farmers market, visit the website.

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We hope your visit to the Flower Show included a trip to Hall B to learn about all the cool plant societies in the Delaware Valley region. From ivy to ferns to cacti to orchids, there’s a plant society to match everyone’s taste and interests, and it’s a great way to keep your “Flower Show momentum” going strong.

You’re 100% guaranteed to make new friends, too! As orchid expert Michael Bowell says, “We want to tell folks how to become member of the societies, since it’s as much about meeting people and having fun as it is about growing great plants.”

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The oak tree has had a cherished place in the Irish landscape in both ancient and modern times, and this exhibit from Tourism Ireland highlights the tree’s role in fairy lore. The loss of oaks is a major issue in contemporary Ireland, and the exhibit encourages the replanting of these sacred trees. You’ll also see this strange-but-wonderful light effect.

And don’t forget to see Tourism Ireland in the bustling Marketplace section of the Show! Hurry, the Show closes today!

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Delaware Valley College’s display shows a post-industrial site converted into an thriving urban farm. Creative, inexpensive, and high-impact, this exhibit proves that a deteriorated vacant lot can become viable land. See it for yourself before the Show closes…which means go now!

Welcome the season with Jacques Amand, The Bulb Specialist, who offers an interpretation of the most famous French sculptures—including those of Rodin and Degas—in a homage created by Philadelphia sculptor Lisa Fedon.

Experience the first sign of spring with the fabulous scent and magnificent color of thousands of flowering bulbs. Only here can you see the largest selection of bulbs—some new, some rare—providing an aromatic, unforgettable experience.

The Atchafalaya Basin in Louisiana is regarded as the largest forest-river swamp in North America and is home to a fantastic variety of plants that are hardy enough to live in the Philadelphia region. From the bald cypress and river birch to the buttonbush, swamp azalea, summer sweet clethra and Virginia sweetspire, the native growth of the bayou has tremendous value to northern gardens.

Across the aisle, the students at W. B. Saul High School of Agricultural Sciences (7100 Henry Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19128) crafted “A Tale of Two Cities,” revealing the horticultural link between Paris and Philadelphia. This includes the beautiful thoroughfares: the Champs-Elysees and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The design also incorporates red maples, red oaks, and sweet gum trees under-planted with springtime bulbs, annuals and perennials.

Up next, the Horticulture Academy at Abraham Lincoln High Schoolhas partnered with Monrovia to follow the journey of President Thomas Jefferson, who was appointed the Minister to France early in his career and later introduced many new plants to the US. He brought these specimens to the gardens at Monticello, his estate in Virginia, and today these horticulture-minded students are bringing it to life on the floor the Pennsylvania Convention Center.